JXBM: Attention
by thechokesonyou
Summary: (Comic-verse.) Batman comes to visit the Joker in his cell one night... But it isn't for the friendly chat the Joker hopes for. Instead, he starts to interrogate him as to the whereabouts of Harley Quinn. How will Joker react when he realizes that the Bat's focus isn't on him?


The Joker sat in a white, cushioned cell with his arms pressed tightly against his body inside of the straight jacket. It was like a big warm hug — from yourself. That roused a giggle. Over the years of being thrown in this very room, escaping and repeating the process, he'd mastered the art of escaping from the confines of the jacket.

Tonight, he had no reason to.

Tonight, he didn't want to.

And the reason why was on his way to see him right now. The Joker's feet tapped as he waited for his moral antithesis to show up. He'd been told he'd have a visitor this evening, and who other than the Caped Crusader would visit Arkham Asylum in the middle of the Narrows in the dark of night in Gotham to see the Joker? He cackled loudly at that. Oh, no. There was no doubt in his mind that the Dark Knight was coming to chat. He couldn't wait. He'd only been in Arkham for a few measly days. After a rough night with the girlfriend, he'd ran off to go vent his anger into poor, useless civilians when before he even had the time to shoot one little bullet, the Bat was on top of him, wrestling his wrists away and down to the ground, a scowl on his lips and the cowl on his face. As angry as he'd been, he didn't mind it so much. After all, it was giving him and the Bat some personal time to chat without fists being thrown every other word.

Not that he minded getting beaten up by the Bat.

On the contrary.

It was one of his favorite pass times.

A small smile rose on his red lips as he imagined the last fight, just days before. He was still covered in bruises, had a cracked rib and a busted lip, and every throb and ache was pure agony — and ultimate bliss. Yes, fighting with his Bat was always a jolly time. His enemies attentions focused solely on him, those dark, inhuman eyes boring into the Joker's, snarling some cruelty at him as he delivered blow after blow to the jester.

Yes… Ultimate bliss.

It was only a few more long minutes before he arrived, the stomp of his boots and the swoosh of his cape alerting the Joker to his presence. He rolled forward to get a look out of the bars, grinning when he saw him. "Good evening, Bats!"

"Quiet, Joker," Batman growled. His fists grabbed the metal bars and he stared down at him with a grimace. "Where's Harley?"

The Joker raised an eyebrow, not trying to hide the obvious disappointment and unamusement. "What?"

"Where is Harley?" The Bat growled again.

The Joker's happy grin disappeared in an instant and turned into a scowl, brow low, eyes narrowed. "_That's _what you came to see me about?"

"As if I'd visit you for anything else."

Anger flared up in the clown's belly and his mask was dangerously close to shattering. He was here for _Harley? _That little bitch, always stealing his spotlight… She wasn't even that important, not even half as smart as himself, and terribly annoying most of the time. Why did the Bat even _care? _"I don't keep tabs on her whereabouts," The Joker said, settling for disinterest, hoping to infuriate the Batman just as much as he had infuriated the Joker. Here he was, sitting in a straight jacket when he _could _be escaping and all because he wanted to see the Bat… He was so selfish. Ungrateful. The Joker's lips twitched.

"Where was the last place you saw her?" Batman asked. The Joker shrugged half heartedly and the Bat bared his teeth in his peripheral. "Guard, let me in there."

"You sure, Batman…? You know how he gets…"

A growl. "I'm sure." The guy shrugged and walked forward, his keys jingling and unlocked the door, pulling it open long enough for the Batman to enter and then shutting it and locking it behind him.

"I'll be outside for a smoke if ya need me," The orderly said and Batman didn't acknowledge it. Joker held back a smirk. _Finally, _he was paying attention to _him. _The man in black stared down at his foe with a scowl and the Joker watched, face blank of any emotion. Behind him, his hands were wiggling to free himself of the straight jacket.

"Talk," Batman said in that husky, dark voice of his.

"What's there to talk about, Bats? I haven't seen her in days. Go ask her houseplant," The Joker said, sniffing haughtily in the air, waiting patiently for the Bat's reaction that he knew would come eventually. Yes, he was his moral antithesis, but his temper was no better than the Joker's.

Strong hands grabbed the collar of the straight jacket and jerked up the clown from where he was sitting, slamming him into the wall. "Where is she?" He roared and when he saw the flicker of laughter on the Joker's sly mouth, he growled even deeper, "_Puddin?_" The Joker's eyes widened and he jerked his elbows to the sides painfully, freeing himself of the white material and falling to the floor right below where Batman still had the jacket pinned to the cushioned wall. Joker swung a quick kick into Batman's shin before he could even comprehend what happened and he groaned, rolling over onto the floor.

"Ya know, Batsy, you think you would've learned by now…" The Joker seethed, walking forward slowly. Batman grimaced and scowled up at him but that did nothing to stop the Joker's advances and suddenly he was on top of him, slamming punch after punch into his face, laughing viciously all the while. The Batman groaned and grabbed at the painfully lean man on top of him, throwing him across the room to land with a thud against the wall, laughing harder as he slammed into it. "Oh, yeah, Bats! Hurt me!"

The Batman growled. "Tell me where she is, you piece of filth, or I'll make sure you're locked in solitary for the rest of your miserable existence." He kicked the Joker hard in the stomach, making him cough and groan and giggle and resulted in only angering Batman further. He couldn't even hurt him without the Joker finding it funny. Nothing got to this man.

"Miserable?" The Joker laughed. "As long as I've got you to keep an eye on me, I won't be miserable at all," The clown hissed, winking up at him.

"Where did you see Harley last?" He growled, straddling the clown and backhanding him across the face.

The Joker spat loudly onto the floor beside him and saw blood mixed in with his saliva and grinned at the sight, probing around in his mouth until he found the ragged flesh of the wound and his eyes closed in sick pleasure. "Let's see…" He breathed. "There were some bodies, a lot of blood and I'm pretty sure we were somewhere in Gotham," He said sweetly and batted his eyelashes. Batman slammed his head into the wall again, hard enough for his skull to feel the concrete underneath the padding. He moaned loudly, stars bursting across his vision and glorious throbs of pains echoed loudly in his ears, making his blood pump in his veins with a vicious determination.

The Batman bared his teeth. "I _will not _hesitate to kill you." At that the Joker stopped laughing and his mouth turned down.

"That's not funny," He growled, but anger swelled in him like laughter and he knew the Bat was telling the truth. "That's not how this ends!" He spat, grabbing the Caped Crusader by the cowl and slamming their heads together. The blow knocked Batman backwards but didn't have him down for long. Joker immediately stood and headed towards the wall furthest to his left. Viciously, he began to tear at the padding with his unkempt nails and Batman watched with a furrowed brow, confused by the erratic action. Finally he forced his hand in and latched onto something, yanking his hand back out. There was a click and the blade of a Swiss army knife shot out. The Joker resumed the stance he always did when he was about to fight. Legs apart, arms out, facing the opponent but by his side, showing off his knife proudly. His head was slightly pointing down and his mouth was sneering wildly. "_You _aren't going to kill _me _over _her!_ Doesn't any of this mean _anything _to you?! We've been at each other's throats for years and we always refuse to kill the other, no matter how close we come. You know you would never do it! What would you do if I was gone, huh? What would you become?!"

"You're nothing to me. I was Batman before I met you, and I'll be Batman long after." His teeth gritted wildly as he watched the determination in the Batman's eyes.

"We both know you don't mean that, Bats…"

"Don't make me prove it, Joker."

The clown lunged, slashing the air with his knife. The Bat grabbed him by the arm and twisted it behind his back, resulting in a sharp pain and a wild laugh. In this position, the Joker had an easy shot at the Bat's side. He slammed the knife into him, knowing the armor would protect him, but hitting him with all his strength so that the metal blade would penetrate it. He grunted loudly as the knife made contact with his abdomen. Joker immediately yanked it back out, most likely tearing something and the dark man screamed viciously, making him cackle, stabbing him again in the arm. The sharp triangle blades sliced through the Joker's jumpsuit, making three long gashes down his chest. He tsked his tongue loudly and shook his head. "Buy a man dinner first, hmm, Batsy?"

He growled a wordless snarl and jumped for him but the Joker was too fast, bending forward to knock the Bat off balance. He landed against the bars and the Joker grabbed him, throwing him to the ground and once again straddling him, holding his arms in one hand and the knife against his lips. "You bastard."

He growled softly. "I don't think someone in your position should be making threats." As he looked down at him, feeling the way his stomach rose and fell violently with his harsh breathing, warm blood seeping down into the cushions, he shuddered. This was his chance to fulfill a dark fantasy. One he'd never been able to before. His face was expressionless as he leaned down and his tongue flicked against the gushing wound in his arm. The Bat cringed in pain but started to writhe, disturbed by the show the Joker was putting on, licking hungrily at his blood. He moaned against the torn flesh, sending blossoms of pain down the Batman's arm. "Oh, you taste _good, _Bats, though I always knew you would…" He grinned at the sight of terror on the Bat's face, knowing he'd never gotten that reaction before. This was different. It wasn't violence, it was intimacy. It was a disturbing ritual that he knew was a symbol of something greater. He watched these thoughts flit through the dark eyes, ringed with eye makeup. And suddenly he was doing something he never ever thought that he would do.

The clown's red mouth hungrily dropped to attack the Batman's, licking at him, sucking, biting, kissing him hard and the Bat froze in shock. _Oh. _Another moan escaped the clown's throat, low and rumbling as emotions flooded his mind, ones he'd seen fluttering on the edges of his mind but had never grasped. Of course this would be the climax of their relationship. They wouldn't kill each other because there was something more than simple fun going on. It was lust. It was need. It was…

It was rapture.

It took him a few delicious, precious moments to react and then suddenly the Bat wrenched his arm away and swung a wicked punch into the Joker's cheek. He hissed loudly as he rolled from his body, anger filling him from the rejection.

He needed more.

So much more.

The Bat landed on top of him, his armored knee slamming into the Joker's stomach and he groaned loudly. His fist slammed over and over into white flesh, feeling it bruise and bust. Blood trickled down his face and he coughed out a harsh laugh. "You can _feel _the passion, can't you?" He groaned again as he hit him, sparking something deep within him, the masochistic side of his sado masochistic personality was roaring up. "You take it out with your fists, I take it out by other means! What's the difference, Batman? They mean the same thing to me!" He shouted, blood spewing from his mouth. His strong white hand grabbed the Bat's hand and jerked it down his body, forcing him to feel the intense hardness that had been steadily growing in his Arkham pajamas.

With widening eyes, he said, "You're sick…"

"But you already knew that," He hissed and slowly started to rub the Bat's hand up and down his erection, using him as a receptacle for his masturbation and feeling the same delicious throbs that he felt when Batman slammed his fist into him. "And yet you still stuck around."

He jerked his hand away, looking at it with disgust and stood, backing towards the barred door. "Not for this," He growled and his fists grabbed the bars, shouting for the guard who had left to smoke, ten minutes ago. Where was he? The Joker was grateful for his absence.

"Don't lie to me, Bats," He whispered, circling him like a hawk. "I know you better than you know yourself."

"You don't know me at all," He breathed.

"I don't know what your name is. I don't know what you look like beneath that mask but I know who you are. Give a man a mask and he reveals his true self. I've seen your true self more than anyone. Your mother," He spat and saw the Batman flinch. "Your _father._" Eyes clench shut. "Your _cat… _The Boy Wonder! We're the same, Bats. Just admit it." His voice was low, musical and the Bat relaxed slightly, drooping against the door and Joker didn't know why. Had he gotten to him yet? He couldn't ignore the throbbing between his legs much longer. If the Bat didn't want to play, he'd just have to force him. It wouldn't be any different than their brawls, just raw passion, force, anger. Why was this so different to his arch nemesis?

Batman had to feel it, too.

Didn't he?

The masked man remained intensely silent, sliding to his knees and the Joker watched with a greedy glare. "It's okay, Bats…" He purred. "You know me, too."

"Unfortunately."

"Don't talk like that," He snapped. "We're one in the same." He grabbed the Bat's shoulders and spun him around, staring down hungrily into those dark eyes. When he leaned close enough for his breath to be hot on Batman's face, he smiled sharply and then he was upon him again, kissing him hard and refusing to close his eyes, mind spinning deliriously as he saw the emotions sparking in the Bat's eyes and felt the blissful pleasure of his taste. It was heaven, magnificent. And then there was the loud clank of a door and Batman pushed him off, making Joker growl as he stood. The guard was walking in and Batman immediately turned to him, desperate to get out of this God forsaken cell. Joker watched with a scowl as he spoke.

"Alright. Let me out," He said in that dark voice. The guard nodded, the smell of cigarette smoke filling the room. The Joker mentally wrote that guard down on his list of people to bump off. Or was he already on that list? It was hard to tell. People blurred together sometimes. When the Bat stepped out and the door closed behind him, the Joker wrapped two white fists around the metal bars.

As he watched Batman walk away, he called out in a haunting voice, "You'll be back, Batman! You always come back!" He fell away from the bars with a vicious giggle and soon found himself rolling into the corner, clutching his stomach as angry laughter filled the cell.


End file.
